World Affairs
Israeli strikes kill at least 12 in southern Lebanon town
Lebanon's Health Ministry said a residential-building strike killed 11 people and a separate drone strike killed a paramedic; Israel said it targeted people transferring weapons.
Executive summary
- The toll: Israeli strikes on Kfar Rumman in southern Lebanon killed at least 12 people, including two children, four women and a paramedic, Lebanon's Health Ministry said.[1][2]
- The attacks: One strike destroyed a residential building and killed 11 people; a separate drone strike on a vehicle killed a paramedic and wounded two other medics.[1][2]
- Israel's account: Israel's military said it struck people transferring weapons near Kfar Rumman and was reviewing reports that civilians were harmed.[1][2][3]
- The escalation: The strikes followed two explosive-drone attacks that Israel attributed to Hezbollah and came during several days of intensifying attacks despite a June ceasefire.[1][2][3]
Israeli strikes on the southern Lebanese town of Kfar Rumman killed at least 12 people early Monday, including two children, four women and a paramedic, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry. The Associated Press and Reuters independently reported the updated toll in what Reuters described as one of the deadliest days of Israeli bombardment in recent weeks.[1][2]
The ministry said one strike destroyed a residential building and killed 11 people. Eight others were wounded, including three children and a paramedic. A separate drone strike on a vehicle killed a paramedic and wounded two other medics, the reports said.[1][2]
Israel's military said it targeted people seen transferring weapons in the Kfar Rumman area and had used precision munitions and aerial surveillance to reduce civilian harm. It said it was reviewing reports that uninvolved people were hurt. The military also said the strikes followed two explosive-drone attacks by Hezbollah against Israeli troops near the Ali al-Taher ridge; Hezbollah had not commented on that account when the reports were published.[1][2][3]
Reuters reporters at the scene saw schoolbooks among the rubble of the destroyed building as rescue crews searched for victims. Both Reuters and AP reported that the Kfar Rumman strikes occurred without an online Israeli evacuation warning, although Israel issued a warning before a separate strike on a building in Deir al-Zahrani later Monday.[1][2]
The attack is separate from Sunday's strikes in Arab Salim and near Nabatieh that killed at least four people and destroyed a vacant hospital. The successive attacks have intensified pressure on a U.S.-brokered ceasefire announced in June, which reduced broader fighting but did not end strikes, drone attacks or Israeli operations in southern Lebanon.[1][2]